Japan's Nikkei hits record high as AI optimism lifts investor sentiment

Keyence

29/10/2025 24:55

TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a record high on Wednesday, as investors drew confidence from Wall Street's overnight strength on optimism surrounding investments in the artificial intelligence sector.

The tech-heavy Nikkei 225 Index .N225 jumped 1.3% to 50,867.58. The broader Topix .TOPX edged 0.03% higher.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs after Nvidia NVDA.O said it will build artificial intelligence supercomputers for the U.S. energy department.

Shares of Microsoft MSFT.O jumped after the tech company reached a deal that permits OpenAI to restructure into a public benefit corporation while giving Microsoft a 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker.

The largest percentage gainers in the Nikkei were chip sector heavyweights Advantest 6857.T, up 15.5%, followed by Lasertec 6920.T, which jumped 5.9%.

The largest losers were Nidec 6594.T down 4.5%, followed by SHIFT 3697.T, which lost 4.1%.

A firmer yen, however, acted as a headwind for most companies. There were 52 advancers in the Nikkei index against 173 decliners.

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

 ((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))